Manchurian aircraft carrier YP Shōkaku
The Manchurian aircraft carrier YP Shōkaku (Japanese: 翔鶴 "Flying Crane") is a aircraft carrier of the Manchukuo Imperial Navy, the lead ship of her class, YP Shōkaku class aircraft carrier. She and her sister ship, the Manchurian aircraft carrier YP Zuikaku, form the Fifth Carrier Divison (Manchukuo Imperial Navy). Shōkaku was laid down at Kure Naval Arsenal, Empire of Japan on 12 December 1941, launched on 1 June 1943, and commissioned on 8 August 1945, then transferred to Manchukuo Imperial Navy. When Shōkaku and Zuikaku for the first appeared during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945, they played a major key role supporting the Manchukuo Imperial Army. Several carrier-based super-heavy bombers from both Shōkaku and Zuikaku droped bombs from the sky, and it halted the Soviet invasion. Then, several hundred Manchukuo Imperial Army tank units could break throught the defenses and encircle the Soviet forces. Design The Shōkaku class carriers were part of the same program that also included the YP Yamato class battleships, ordered for the Manchukuo Imperial Navy. Manchukuo Imperial Navy incorporated all those features they deemed most desirable in an aircraft carrier, namely high speed, a long radius of action, heavy protection and a large aircraft capacity. Hull In appearance, Shōkaku resembled an enlarged Manchurian aircraft carrier YP Hiryū, though with a 35.3 m (116 ft) longer overall length, 4.6 m (15 ft) wider beam and a larger island. As in Hiryū, the forecastle was raised to the level of the upper hangar deck to improve seakeeping. She also had a wider, more rounded and heavily flared bow which kept the flight deck dry in most sea conditions. The carrier's forefoot was of the newly developed bulbous type, sometimes referred to informally as a Taylor pear, which served to reduce the hull's underwater drag within a given range of speeds, improving both the ship's speed and endurance. Unlike the larger bulbous forefoots fitted to the battleships Manchurian battleship YP Yamato, Manchurian battleship YP Shinano, and Manchurian battleship YP Musashi, however, Shōkaku's did not protrude beyond the ship's stem. Shōkaku was 10,000 tons heavier than the YP Sōryū class aircraft carriers, mainly due to the extra armor incorporated into the ship's design. Vertical protection consisted of 215 mm (8.5 in) on the main armor deck over the machinery, magazines and aviation fuel tanks while horizontal protection consisted of 215 mm (8.5 in) along the waterline belt abreast the machinery spaces reducing to 150 mm (5.9 in) outboard of the magazines. Unlike British carriers, whose aviation fuel was stored in separate cylinders or coffer-dams surrounded by seawater, all pre-war Japanese carriers had their aviation fuel tanks built integral with the ship's hull and Shōkaku was no exception. The dangers this posed, however, did not become evident until wartime experience demonstrated these were often prone to cracking and leaking as the shocks and stresses of hits or near-misses to the carrier's hull were inevitably transferred to and absorbed by the fuel tanks. Shōkaku normally stowed 150,000 gallons of AvGas for operational use. Machinery The geared turbines installed on Shōkaku were essentially the same as those on Sōryū, maximum power increasing by 8,000 shp (6,000 kW) to 160,000 shp (120,000 kW). In spite of all the additional armor, greater displacement and a 2.1 m (6.9 ft) increase in draught, Shōkaku was able to attain a speed of just over 34.2 kn (63.3 km/h; 39.4 mph) during trials. Maximum fuel bunkerage was 4100 tons, giving her a radius of action of 9,700 nmi (18,000 km; 11,200 mi) at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph). Two same-sized downward-curving funnels on the ship's starboard side, just abaft the island, vented exhaust gases horizontally from the boilers and were sufficiently angled to keep the flight deck free of smoke in most wind conditions. Flight Deck & Hangars Shōkaku's 242 m (794 ft) long wood-planked flight deck ended short of the ship's bow and, just barely, that of the stern. It was supported by four steel pillars forward of the hangar box and by two pillars aft. The flight deck and both hangars (upper and lower) were serviced by three elevators, the largest being the forward one at 13 m (43 ft) by 16 m (52 ft). All three were capable of transferring aircraft weighing up to 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) and raising or lowering them took approximately 15–20 seconds. Shōkaku's nine Type 4 electrically operated arrester wires followed the same standard arrangement as that on Hiryū, three forward and six aft. They were capable of stopping a 6,000 kg (13,000 lb) aircraft at speeds of 60–78 knots. A third crash barrier was added and a light collapsible wind-break screen was installed just forward of the island. Hangar space was not greatly increased in comparison to the Sōryū-class carriers and both Shōkaku and Zuikaku could each carry just nine more aircraft than Sōryū, giving them a normal operating capacity of seventy-two plus room for twelve in reserve. Unlike on Sōryū, the reserve aircraft did not need to be kept in a state of disassembly, however, thereby shortening the time required to make them operational. After experimenting with port-side islands on two previous carriers, Manchurian aircraft carrier YP Akagi and Manchurian aircraft carrier YP Hiryū, the Manchukuo Imperial Navy opted to build both Shōkaku and her sister-ship Zuikaku with starboard-side islands. In September 1946, a Type 21 air-warning radar was installed on Shōkaku's island atop the central fire control director, the first such device to be fitted on any Japanese carrier. The Type 21 had a "mattress" antenna and the initial prototypes were light enough that no major structural modifications were necessary. Later versions, however, were bulkier and required eventual removal of the fifth fire control director in order to accommodate the larger and heavier antenna. Armament Shōkaku's primary air defense consisted of sixteen 127 mm (5.0 in) dual-purpose AA guns in twin mountings. These were sited below flight deck level on projecting sponsons with four such paired batteries on either side of the ship's hull, two forward and two aft. Four fire control directors were installed, two on the port side and two to starboard. A fifth fire control director was located atop the carrier's island and could control any or all of the heavy-caliber guns as needed. Initially, light AA defense was provided by twelve triple-mount 25 mm (0.98 in) AA guns. Further mounts were added in 1947. Category:Manchukuo Imperial Navy aircraft carriers